Hunstanton
by Suomalainen-Sisu
Summary: Fresh out of uni, Gaara doesn't expect to be wasting two months of his life in a seaside town visiting family under polite obligation. But there he meets a blond tattoo artist, a man with tattooed sleeves, multiple piercings and a smirk that oozes confidence, and soon the idea of leaving doesn't sound as appealing. NaruGaa AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hunstanton – 1/5**

Inspired by the song Hunstanton Pier by Deaf Havana.

* * *

Fresh out of university and ready to start his life, Gaara really doesn't expect to find himself back in Hunstanton. He wants to be down in London, with his foot wedged into the door of an international company, ready to begin building his career. But family obligation has forced him back to the tiny seaside town tucked away in the east corner of England.

Gaara blames it on Temari; unlike Kankuro and Gaara, she's the only sibling to not have fled the bubble-like town as soon as she'd been financially able to. Instead, she's actually settled down with her long-term boyfriend, even married him and now they have two little creatures running around their ankles. Gaara hates kids: he can't care less about the two turds following him around the cottage, and the prospect of being called _uncle_ is far more daunting than he originally imaged. So Gaara ends up spending his time cooped up in the cupboard-like guest bedroom, counting down the days until he can _finally_ leave.

Kankuro has already come and gone, having no university term time to stick to. He'd come in the winter months, frozen his toes off and had quickly escaped afterwards. Now he's somewhere in Birmingham working in construction. Meanwhile Gaara's stuck in the Victorian town for two months after thankfully having haggled it down from the torturous three that Temari had initially demanded. He's already spent his first week wondering exactly how he's going to keep himself occupied. In a place where the population doesn't scrape past five thousand, Gaara's struggling to find a purpose to his visit.

When Temari unhelpfully suggests he do something reckless like some sort of extreme water sport, Gaara glares at her, cocking a brow and then proceeds to stalk off back to his room with his tea. There, he sits in almost complete darkness, staring uselessly at his calendar and contemplating exactly how dull his life is at twenty-three.

"- don't look like a tourist."

Gaara jerks out of his thoughts. "I'm sorry?" He mumbles out and accepts the steaming cup of coffee from the barista along with a chocolate brownie. He hands over money and waits patiently for his change.

The tiny café he has found is brimming with life and noise. It's strange that the stoic man's even in there, normally Gaara's one to avoid loud crowded places, but the promise of a warm coffee (despite the sunny weather) and a break from fruitlessly searching the town for anything remotely interesting has driven him into the coffee shop. And now that he stands with his coffee in one hand and a plate with a delicious looking brownie in the other, Gaara's glad he ventured into the building – though he would appreciate it more if the tourists were slightly less in numbers.

"Said I don't recognise you, but you don't look like a tourist either." The barista repeats and smiles. She looks a tad younger than him, with bleach blonde hair and a cute little purple dress.

"I'm here to visit family."

"Oh! Who?" She leans forward over the counter in her excitement. "My name's Ino by the way!"

And there's the problem with small towns: everyone knows each other and their business. It irks Gaara to no end and is one of the reasons he'd left Hunstanton as soon as he was able. Seven years ago, he'd been the brunet kid sulking around the place on his own; the teenager who'd eagerly left the town with the barest of goodbyes and who hadn't returned since. But now, people don't know that. With brightly dyed red hair and thick eyeliner, he's no longer recognised for the scrawny boy from back then. And Gaara, being a very reserved and independent person, is very happy to keep it that way.

"Just people." Gaara says and quickly turns and flees to find himself a small table.

There, Gaara busies himself by pouring over yesterday's newspaperuntil sometime later when Gaara notices Ino hovering nearby him, wiping at a recently vacated table and stacking plates up onto a tray. He waits somewhat warily as she comes closer until she stands a respectable distance from him. Gaara looks up expectantly and raises a brow.

"Hey, erm, you wouldn't mind doing me a favour, would you?" She bits her lip and pouts.

He pauses for a moment and then Gaara puts down his paper and gives her his full attention.

"Look, I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't really busy in here, but would you mind taking a bunch of sandwiches and two coffees down to the tattoo place just round the corner? Sakura would have normally come got them by now, but I hear she's been a bit ill lately so normally I would have dropped them off by now as it's their lunch break," she says. "The boys will give you money for it all and you can just keep it."

"Why are you asking me?" Gaara murmurs back and then furrows his brow while he brings up an image of the town's layout in his mind; there certainly hadn't been a tattoo shop here before.

"'Cause everyone else in this place is a damn tourist and I don't trust a single one of them." At that she lets her eyes fall to table where a bunch of rowdy sightseers are busy exchanging holiday snaps. "Please? The guys are really lovely and they're both cute too – erm, but I don't know if you like that." Her voice trails off at the end and Ino gives him a sheepish smile.

Gaara stares back blankly, then drains the last of his coffee, wraps his brownie up in tissues and stands. "Okay."

"Really?! Are you sure? Jesus, I could kiss you right about now." She seems surprised, but then Ino's bouncing up and down and waving her hands excitedly. She doesn't give him time to reply as she rushes back behind the counter, ignoring the small queue in favour of packing sandwiches neatly into a bag and preparing coffee. "Thank God, you're such a babe!"

Gaara grimaces and mutely accepts the bag and holder containing two coffee cups. Making his way through the crowded café and almost stumbling over a pram, Gaara's thankful to find Ino pulling the door open for him.

"How long you here for then?" She asks.

"Two months."

"You know, this place can get awfully dull pretty quick if you're not doing anything." Ino looks at him like she's pretty sure Gaara already knows that. And then she laughs when the redhead rolls his eyes and nods. "Well if you need, I can get you a part-time job here. There are always tons of tourists here in the summer and mum and I always end up overworking ourselves. You can earn some money in the next few weeks and then escape off to wherever you want." She purses her lips together and shrugs. "Pop back in later if you're interested?"

"Okay."

"Pretty quiet aren't you?"

"I guess." Gaara replies and then gestures to the food in his hands. "I'm going to go now. Which way..?"

"Oh, yeah. Just down the road, third turning and its a few places down from that charity shop – dunno if you know which one I mean."

"Yeah, I know. Thank you." Gaara starts off walking after, down the street he's had the part week to re-familiarise himself with. It's a lot busier now though and the redhead finds himself jumping out the way of couples and mums with children.

The summer's officially kicked in now and whilst the breeze from the sea is refreshing, the midday rays beating down on him quickly have Gaara shedding his jacket somewhat clumsily. Memories of days spent wincing over reddened skin gently remind him that Gaara should probably go lather up in sun cream, but it's only his face and the scrawny arms poking out his t-shirt that are in danger of burning, and Gaara's always hated the smell of the cream anyway.

He's happy when he finally makes a turn and slinks down the much quieter road; it's void of tourists because there's nothing really interesting down here. But Gaara's quick to spot the tattoo place, it sticks out like a sore thumb and the redhead wonders just how much business can _Jinchuuriki Ink _have in Sunny Hunny – a place where half the people have hip replacements and the other half are under the age of four. Nonetheless, Gaara hasn't been this curious in while and he pushes the door open and steps inside with no further ado.

Inside, the air smells sterile and clear. The redhead stands in a modern and well lit waiting area, there are comfy looking leather sofas and table with a book of tattoo designs on it. The whole place is vastly different from the dark, chamber-like stereotype, and Gaara finds himself staring curiously into a glass case that holds various body jewellery when a low voice calls out.

"Hey!"

Gaara jumps and spins round, the coffee cups wobble in their holder. Gaara opens his mouth to grunt out a greeting and then freezes.

There's a guy stood on the other side of the counter. He's got this gorgeous sun-kissed complexion and messy blond hair that could totally let him pass for one of those typical surfer guys that girls run after if it wasn't for the tattoos.

And Jesus, they're _everywhere_.

There's one starting at his neck and disappearing into the tight t-shirt that hugs him perfectly. And then both his arms are inked too, and Gaara's annoyed that he's too far away to make out any specific shape or pattern. But he's not too far away to spot the stretched ears or the multiple piercings (at least seven) that lay there. The guy's face is almost clear of metal though, besides the two rings on either side of his bottom lip. He looks handsome with these brilliant blue eyes that take in the sight of Gaara with a lazy, self-assured glance.

And okay, Gaara's attracted to him. And when he finally manages to unhinge his jaw and quit gawking, the redhead finds himself saying "Hi."

The guy blinks and then yawns, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands and then pulls a strange face at the pale man. "Shit, sorry mate, I'm on my break so I can't do anything right now. You mind popping back later? Just ask for Naruto if I'm not around." He thinks for a second and then pulls a face. "Damn, I forgot to put the sign in the window didn't I? I'm being a pain, right?"

"I have lunch," Gaara says and he feels like a bit of an idiot when he holds out the bag and the drinks and walks forward to place them on the counter. He's totally out of place here and the blond man is definitely out of his league. Sure, Gaara's not a complete disappointment when it comes to guys – he's had sex more than once (even though Kankuro doesn't believe him) and the redhead has even dated (briefly, and like Kankuro believes that any more than the former). But the way Naruto stares at him, with a lazy smirk and look that oozes out confidence has Gaara feeling like the twenty-year old stoic virgin he used to be.

"Oh," Naruto clicks his tongue, and then his eyes drop from Gaara down to the bag. "Is that a BLT?" He pulls out a tenner and slides it across the counter without a thought.

"I don't know, I didn't make it." Gaara mumbles out, he's hasty to get away before he blurts out something foolish. "I should go now. You look -."

"Tired?" He laughs as he digs out a sandwich and takes a huge bite. "Nah, you can stay. Sasuke and I are just getting rushed off our feet today, I'm exhausted. It's been super busy and my girl's at home sick so it's just us two here."

"Sakura?" Gaara finds himself asking, rooted to the spot because Naruto's laugh sounds like someone is dribbling honey over that washboard stomach he's probably got under that shirt, and Gaara knows that sounds absolutely ridiculous but it's true. And so he's latched onto the name Ino gave him less than fifteen minutes ago and stares up at Naruto like a kid in a sweet shop – except, Gaara knows his face is completely blank, even if his mind is going crazy.

"Yeah." Naruto narrows his eyes at him and trails his gaze up and down his body. "How come I've never seen you around? I mean, this place has less culture than Jeremy Kyle, I would have remembered you." He smirks and gestures to Gaara's hair. "Don't recall a guy with red hair working for the Yamanaka family."

Gaara suddenly feels very naked and he reaches a hand up to play with his hair, as if the contact will suddenly turn it back to its natural brown colour. "I don't. Ino asked me to do a favour for her. I'm only here visiting family."

"Which one? I mean there's only ten to choose from," he jokes.

"Do you know Temari?"

"No – oh, wait! The cute pregnant chick – or, she probably had the kid ages ago, has her hair in these four bunches and came to get some fella's name done under her boob?"

"What?"

Naruto smiles sheepishly. "Didn't know about that last bit, did you?" Naruto takes another bite. "So what, you're her brother? Awesome! Younger, I'm guessing, but equally as attractive." The words fall from his mouth with ease, like he genuinely means it and isn't just saying it for a bit of harmless fun.

But then there's heat spreading across his cheeks and Gaara can feel the beginnings of a blush. So he bites at the inside of his cheek and tries not to get all coy by avoiding eye contact. Nevertheless it's really hard because Naruto's just staring at him and he looks really cute and Gaara doesn't know what to say. Unable to look away, Gaara lets his eyes trail down Naruto's body, which really isn't a good idea if he thinks about it, but it's better than zoning in on the way Naruto's playing with one of the hoops on the edge of his mouth with his tongue. It's the tattoos that draw his attention though, (and maybe the toned arms they're on,) and he finds himself asking a question which can be perceived as naïve. "Did it hurt?"

"What? When I fell from heaven?" Naruto teases and goddamn winks at the pale man. "I assume you mean these?" He waves his arms about and when Gaara nods Naruto props his elbows onto the counter and rests his face in his hands. He stays like that for a while, thinking and then finally says. "Nah, I mean, yeah they hurt, but you get used to it. Depends whereabouts you get it too. Like here -," he grabs one of Gaara's wrists and holds it up, thumb caressing the skin there. "It hurts here. And here -." This time he spins Gaara round with gentle push and slides his hand down his spine. "Feels like a proper bitch."

Gaara turns back around and he's not quite sure if he's still breathing alright, not when the tattooed man is placing a final inked hand against Gaara's chest and running the fingers down it.

He's flirting. Naruto is definitely flirting with him, right? And Gaara doesn't know why because he looks like scrawny bald chicken, all paper-like skin and a head too big for his body. So why is Naruto stroking his fingers against his t-shirt and watching Gaara in the same way people do when they're really interested?

"Ribs hurt a bunch too." Naruto adds as an afterthought and then pulls away, completely unaware of the fire that he's just left on Gaara's skin. Instead, he smirks and cocks his head to the side. "Why? You interested?"

To be honest, Gaara's never thought of getting a tattoo; but then he'd never thought of dying his hair either until he'd tried it. Still, he's always kind of thought that they're stupid. And what happens when you're old? Why permanently mark your skin with something you might grow bored of?

"Because they mean something to you."

"Sorry?" Gaara's eyes snap up to stare into the blue of Naruto's. Did he say that out loud?

"It's all over your face."

And that really surprises Gaara, with his antisocial behaviour and blunt approach to most things, people struggle to understand him. And yet this guy seems to have got it right on the first try. Which is equally as exciting as it is terrifying because that means that for the past however many minutes they've spoken for, the bubbling emotions in Gaara's chest might not have been kept as secret as the redhead hoped.

"- Sure, some people get inked for the same reason you dyed your hair, 'cause it looks awesome. But then a bunch get them 'cause they mean something to them, like real personal shit sometimes." The way he says it and the way Naruto casts his eyes down to his own arms tells Gaara that the blond definitely falls into the latter category.

"Naruto, stop flirting."

Gaara chokes on a cough and his eyes shoot to look over Naruto's left shoulder where a fair-skinned man with black hair leans against the doorway with a leering face that tells the redhead that he's all too used to Naruto's behaviour.

"I'm not flirting! Jeez, Sasuke!" He turns to the redhead with wide eyes. "I'm not a creep, I promise. Sakura's my girlfriend -."

There's a sinking feeling in Gaara's stomach and the little warm bursts that keep running up the redhead's body whenever Naruto speaks or smiles or angles his body towards him just crumble away. And Gaara supposes he'd been a little silly. He's just a guy who can't even pass for an eighteen year old, and from behind you can easily mistake him for a short-haired girl. And okay maybe he's shooting himself down here, but there's not much point pretending that Naruto's conversation with him is anything more than a friendly chat.

"- In the summer we always get teenagers here, and it's obvious they've only just turned eighteen and have printed a quote off the internet that they found an hour ago because they wanna piss off their parents. So, you know, you're a pleasant change."

Gaara squints his eyes up at Naruto and tilts his head to the side. "Thank you?"

Naruto seems to sense his hesitation, because then a hand is reaching out and grasping Gaara's shoulder. "That didn't come off as rude, did it?"

Behind him, Sasuke is rolling his eyes and that cocky look doesn't disappear.

"No," Gaara replies. "I should go now." He's really eager to leave now, especially because it seems like Sasuke can tell he's attracted to the blond man, and Gaara's still unsure as to if Naruto can sense it too.

"Oh, okay."

He senses disappointment in the tone of Naruto's voice and Gaara is quick to reply, almost like an excited school girl. "I am interested though. In a tattoo, I mean."

"Really?! Wait, you're not just saying that because some hot guy covered in them seems to think they're the best thing ever?" Naruto self-confidence bursts through any discontent fast enough to have Gaara blinking ridiculously. The blond man throws a glare over his shoulder when Sasuke snorts somewhere behind him. "This is something you gotta be really sure about. Think about it, alright?"

"I have thought about it." Gaara's lying.

"Ah, cool. Thought you seemed a little iffy about them earlier, thought you were only here at first 'cause Ino bribed you. Guess I was wrong." Naruto says. "Erm, do you wanna have a consultation now then, I'm still free for the next hour -."

Sasuke decides to join the conversation properly when he pushes himself away from the doorway and steps up behind his friend. "Might not wanna do that, Naruto. Bee's coming up remember? That's a five hour session – Don't wanna cut your break short. I'm sure the guy can wait."

"Oh crap yeah!" The face Naruto pulls could pass for sympathetic. "I've got some bloke coming up from Plymouth to get this wicked octopus done on his back. That's like a six hour drive, I'm well chuffed." Naruto grins and rubs at the back of his head. "But tell you what. I can slip you in for a consultation next week if you want? At the end of the day, so there's no rush 'cause I think you're a cool guy. Would love to do earlier but…" he shrugs.

"Yeah, okay."

"Fantastic!" He yanks over a piece of paper and Gaara can see him scribbling down a date and a phone number. Naruto hands it over and smiles broadly. "Pop back in on that day, yeah? And we can sort out some awesome design for you."

Gaara doesn't think any sort of picture on his body would look good. But Gaara still nods, heart thumping because the number Naruto wrote down didn't seem like a landline one, and tucks the paper into his pocket. "Thank you." The redhead then stands awkwardly for a moment until he spins round and makes his way to the exit.

"Why am I always stuck with the coronation chicken? You're such a prick -." Gaara hears the rustling of the food bag and the beginning of Sasuke's complaint before the door swings shut behind him and the sun glares down on him, making Gaara narrow his eyes and shield his face with a hand.

It's on the way to Temari's that Gaara stops by at the café Ino's family owned. There, he politely accepts a summer job and flees the shop the second it clicks in Ino's brain who he is and that apparently Gaara had been three years above her at the local state school.

When he's locked safely in his miniscule room, Gaara spends the rest of his day stood in front of the mirror in his underwear. Despite his short stature, his body seems lanky as he twists it to the left and then to the right, placing his hands on various places of his body while envisioning an inked image in their place. It's when Gaara's neck cracks far too loudly and painfully late in the evening that the redhead finally stops craning his head round to stare at his back in the mirror.

He sighs heavily.

Later he inserts Naruto's number into his phone.

* * *

So…this is going to be my next multiple chapter NaruGaa fanfic, and my first try at not having Gaara be a rude asshole or a complete pussy. At the moment it's planned to be five chapters, but considering that my smut scenes can easily turn into 5000 word monsters, it could be pushed to six. Anyway, I hope it's well received, let me know by reviewing!


	2. Chapter 2

**Hunstanton – 2/5**

* * *

Temari really isn't happy when Gaara accidentally wanders into the bathroom as his sister is climbing out of the tiny bathtub. There's shrieking and all sorts of shampoo bottles being chucked at his head, but the pale man still manages to fix his gaze unwillingly onto the neat black ink under Temari's left boob that reads_ Shikamaru _as he backtracks out of the room, grimace firmly in place.

For the first time in forever, tattoos are at the top of Gaara's interest list, and he doesn't miss the way Shikamaru and Temari exchange odd looks when he mumbles out that he'd been thinking about getting inked. It's not the best idea, as Gaara realises the second Temari starts gushing over him, questioning and prodding in a way that comes across as half worried and half eager. So he fixes his eyes onto his shepard's pie until Gaara's sister grows bored of his uncooperativeness and hurries to stop her youngest kid from dribbling out a sticky mess of potato and meat.

A few minutes pass and then there's a thump under the table and Gaara's pretty sure Temari's just kicked her husband, what with the way he pulls a strained smile and says, "Are you sure about that, Gaara? Tattoos are a permanent thing."

"Yes." And that's the end of the conversation, even if Temari and Shikamaru continue to have a silent exchange with their eyebrows long after Gaara's shuffled off to his room.

Still, he gets why they're a little apprehensive; though the idea of dying his hair red had also raised similar impressions of disbelief and that worked out fine. Nonetheless, a tattoo is a lot more serious, a lot more permanent and one which could easily be regretted thirty years later when the first wrinkles begin to etch into his currently unblemished flesh.

Gaara's still not really passionate about the body art, he's convinced that any sort of coloured ink will look ridiculous against white skin which makes him look like he's been hiding in a closest for the past twenty years – which, he hasn't, he came out a long time ago, but still. And so the only reason he finds himself opening the door to the tattoo shop a few days later is because of memories of a beautiful blond. There's disappointment however when Sasuke is the one standing behind the counter. His lips are pursed together and in Gaara's mind it kind of look like a cat's asshole, but he's not going to tell Sasuke that as he approaches him.

Barely a flicker of recognition passes through the guy's eyes before there's a leer on his face and he's looking down his nose at Gaara like he's some got some penis resembling growth extending from his forehead. "You here to get your belly button pierced?"

"What?"

Sasuke rolls his eyes and jerks a thumb over his shoulder. "Your boyfriend's in the back room – try not to get too wet when you talk to him."

Gaara blinks a few times because he's really confused, but he walks round the counter anyway and through the small door. There's an open space ahead of him but it's not empty, there's a brunet guy lounging in a black chair whilst a beautiful pink-haired woman snaps at him to stop pulling faces because she's currently tattooing red triangles onto the guy's cheeks. Neither of them look towards him and for that Gaara is glad, he's pretty sure his face looks pretty horrified as he wonders what sane person would get permanent shapes drawn onto their face, and how can there possibly be _any_ sort of symbolism behind it.

He hurries onto the next room, leaving the odd client and woman (who he now assumes to be Sakura) behind. There he finds Naruto laughing and clapping a hand onto a young girl's shoulder whilst she goes cross-eyed in her attempts to look at the silver hoop on her septum.

"Remember to clean that, alright? And try not to mess around with it too much."

The girl rolls her eyes. "I'm not an idiot, even if my mum thinks I am; totally getting my nipples done when I'm eighteen."

At this point Naruto's stalking off to chuck black gloves into a bin. Over his shoulder he calls out, "We'll still be here when you grow up a bit. It's thirty for one but I'll do both nipples for fifty."

"Pervert," The girl teases, sticking out her tongue.

"It's my job," Naruto sighs but he's got a huge grin on his face and it's pretty obvious that the brunette is a well-known customer. A second passes and Naruto's eyes flicker over to where Gaara is standing feeling like a lemon. "Now get out of here, Tenten, I've got this handsome man to deal with next."

Gaara inhales sharply and suddenly his palms are sweaty. He proceeds to wipe them on the denim of his jeans discreetly and offers Naruto a barely there upward tilt of the lips.

Tenten raises both hands in surrender and begins to retreat out of the room, smirk in place "What did I say: pervert."

Her departure leaves Naruto and Gaara standing awkwardly in the room until the blond man gestures for the pale man to follow him out of the room and back to where Sasuke is lazily leaning against the counter. Naruto gives his friend a look and Sasuke cocks an eyebrow and nods at the redhead before exiting the room.

"I figured we'd do your consultation here, it's almost closing time so we're not really gonna get any more customers after Sakura's done with Kiba," Naruto mumbles out and lets his body fall heavily into an empty seat. His body goes slack immediately and then looks at Gaara. "It's really great you came back – erm..?"

"Gaara," he mumbles and suddenly feels preposterous because the redhead's been dreaming about a guy who's only just learnt his name.

"Cool. Sit."

Gaara follows the order and perches in a chair opposite Naruto, hands clasped tightly together in his lap whilst he watches Naruto pull paper and pens out of thin air. He stares intently as the blond man pulls the cap off a pen with his teeth and at this point Gaara imagines that Naruto must think of him as some huge creep.

But Naruto doesn't seem to share that idea because he only smiles when he catches Gaara's gaze and says, "So, what were you thinking of?"

It takes a while for Gaara to think of what to say, he hasn't really thought about the whole tattoo thing, has absolutely no design image in his head but Naruto is staring at him expectantly. "Something small on my back."

Naruto shakes his head, smile in place. "Think I need some more detail than that; I'm good but I don't think I'm _that_ good."

"Oh," he mumbles and glances away.

"Look, I'm gonna be honest with you. You're not interested in a tattoo, are you?"

"I am."

"I can tell you're lying, Gaara. Why are you here?"

Gaara remains silent and he pretty much super glues his eyes to the table in front of him while he grips the chair and refuses to answer.

"Oh." Naruto exclaims and there's a definite smirk in his voice when he tilts Gaara's head up with a hand and lets his eyes flicker down to Gaara's lips when he says, '"You're here because of me." It's not a question and it doesn't need to be because Naruto's hit the nail on the head.

Gaara can't find a voice because he's drowning in the tattooed man's eyes so all he does is nod.

"That's cute." Naruto grins broadly and lets go, leaning back in his chair and looking weirdly comfortable for a guy who's just found out his ex-potential client has a crush the size of Texas on him. "I mean, I totally knew from the start, I've got a wicked gaydar." Naruto taps at his temple looking entirely too smug with himself.

"You're not freaked out?" Gaara announces.

"'Course not. You're seriously hot."

Gaara stares at him, all wide eyes and thinking that Naruto is the most amazing person he's ever met. He might not believe in the compliments himself, but the fact that this blond man seems so honest and carefree with his words has Gaara blushing under the salutations. "But I'm –."

"A guy? Yeah, I noticed. I like people, doesn't matter what gender," Naruto says.

Gaara hadn't meant imply that; he'd never thought much of Naruto's sexual orientation because regardless of what it is, nothing would come about from it. He'd simply meant to protest against Naruto's words; the word _hot_ was meant for guys like Naruto and Sasuke, not lanky, deathly-pale, stoic men like himself. But now that Naruto's sharing his personal preferences, Gaara would have been a fool to not be intrigued. "Which do you like more?"

Naruto pauses to think about that question, biting the tip of his pen and finally answering. "Guys I suppose. I mean, I love boobs and I love curves, but something about a lean body under me – damn. And like, you meet a girl and you know what she's gonna be like in bed; you know if she's going to be loud or super kinky or if she's just going to lay there like a thumb when you're fucking her." His voice has fallen to a low drawl, quiet in a way that has Gaara leaning forward. "But guys are so much more unpredictable, and the way they look when they're all desperate and shaky is just…and…I'm getting about as unprofessional as it gets." Naruto sucks his bottom lip into his mouth and shrugs in a sheepish manner.

"But you're with Sakura," Gaara almost whispers because he knows Sakura's only a few meters away, and this whole topic seems a tad taboo.

But Naruto doesn't seem fazed as he babbles on. "Like I said, I still love girls and Sakura is amazing. We met over in Manchester when this old guy, Jiraiya, was taking on apprentices. She fucking hated me and loved Sasuke until we moved over here and got really close," Naruto says. "I don't even think I've done anything with a guy in like, what, two or three years. Despite preferring them, it's just easier to find a girl that I like than a guy who also happens to like dick too. Tons of straight hot girls walk in here all the time, can't say the same for gay guys."

"I'm here," Gaara says and he doesn't realise how reckless those words are, how suggestive they sound until after they've left his mouth. And then he can't take them back.

But Naruto just smiles at him. "Yeah, you're here."

Gaara blinks and swallows.

Naruto sets down the pen. "Do you wanna – I dunno, come back to mine?"

"What?"

He tilts his head to the side and grins, "I said, you wanna come back to mine?" The way his lips are tilted up, all confident and suggestive, and the way Naruto's dragging his blue eyes over Gaara makes the redhead think that Naruto knows exactly what his words seem to imply. But when he bounces up from his seat and yanks up Gaara with him, exclaiming "Come on, let's go grab Sakura," it leaves the pale man just as confused as ever.

So he stands there uneasily and waits as he hears Naruto and his girlfriend (emphasis on the word _girlfriend_) talking in the other room. It's not long before three people exit, the two tattoo artists and the strange man who can't seem to stop taking selfies of his freshly tattooed face; he leaves pretty shortly afterwards though, after he's thanked Sakura too many times and the pink-haired woman's smile has become strained. Then Naruto gestures at Gaara.

"Come on, Sasuke's gonna close up today."

The redhead nods and follows Sakura and Naruto out of the store and a few meters down to where a black car is parked. Gaara has to wait while Naruto yanks forward the passenger seat enough so that he can clamber gracelessly into the back seat. It's not until he's fought with the seatbelt and the car's started up and moving that Gaara realises that he's the unwanted third wheel in the back and that he hasn't even said a word to Sakura.

But Naruto saves him the embarrassment of having to fake a cough and introduce himself when he says, "What do you think of my new friend?"

"Did you blackmail him to come with us?" She asks and peers into the rear-view mirror. "He's cute."

Gaara's stares back with startled eyes and wonders what exactly it is that Naruto and Sakura see in him. "Hi, I'm Gaara."

"Sakura," she replies and manages to send a small wave his way. Shortly after, Sakura's pulling up near the curb where she stops the car and then turns to glare at Naruto. "I'm going to be watching Game of Thrones all night and shouting at Joffrey, so you two are either going to talk in the kitchen or sit very quietly whilst I watch my show."

Gaara blinks.

"I've turned you into a monster."

"I know," she leans over to peck Naruto on the lips and pulls back with a smile. "And I can't decide if I hate or love you for it."

Gaara chews at his bottom lip and pretends that the couple in the front aren't having a moment.

They climb out the car and enter the house. It's a neat cottage, not exactly what you'd expect for three people in their profession, but it's got tons of space and Gaara listens to Naruto spout on about how they'd be living in a box if they lived anywhere else except here. It's that conversation that finds Naruto and Gaara cooped up in the kitchen, nursing beers and talking in quiet tones while Sakura screeches her hate for some ginger-haired girl called Sansa in the other room.

"Speaking of here, how long you around in Hunstanton for?" Naruto takes a gulp of his drink and asks.

"Six weeks still."

"And then?" He seems genuinely interested.

"London," Gaara says and quickly amends to, "I'm going to London."

Naruto smiles. "Not a small town kind of person then?"

"It's boring to me."

"I feel offended by that," Naruto huffs out, appearing aghast and presses his hand against his chest.

"No. I didn't mean -," Gaara starts to say frantically.

But instead his words end up dying his mouth as he watches Naruto's inked hand come closer until the redhead is crossing his eyes and Naruto is poking him on the nose and going, "Boop! Got you!" He withdraws his hand and then Naruto is laughing; eyes all scrunched up and white teeth showing.

It's probably because Gaara's still sat there with his eyes crossed, startled and beginning to turn a little bit pink. Gaara shakes his head and focuses back onto Naruto who's still silently shaking and wiping away tears. He waits for Naruto to calm down a little, distracting himself by fiddling with the label on his beer and trying to think of what to say. In the end though, all that comes out is a lame "okay?"

Naruto rests his elbows on the kitchen counter and cups his cheeks in his hands. With Naruto's face all squished and adorable looking, the guy asks, "Do you think I'm boring?"

Gaara's almost too quick to shake his head because Naruto's just about the most interesting man he's ever met. "No."

"Hmm?" Naruto smirks and he's about to open his mouth to say something when his phone starts buzzing on the table; the blond man spares the screen a quick look before he mumbles out, "Sasuke's not coming back tonight, seems like he's about to get laid." He smiles and then goes to grab two more beers from the fridge, pops them open and slides one across the table to Gaara.

"What was your first tattoo?" Gaara asks eventually, interest getting the better of him.

"Don't laugh," Naruto says and then he's standing up and pulling his leg up onto the counter. Before Gaara can raise his brow in confusion, Naruto's yanking off his sock and wiggling his toes at the redhead. On the bottom of the foot, in kind of messy black writing, the name _Andy _stares back at Gaara.

"Andy? An ex-boyfriend?"

Naruto snorts at that and pulls his leg back onto the ground. "No. Andy from _Toy Story_!" He exclaims, all excited and smiley. "Don't judge, I was like fifteen. Of course since then all my tattoos have been a lot more…" He flexes his right arm where a fox with multiple tails is curling down his arm. "Masculine and meaningful."

"No self-respecting tattoo artist should have a Disney reference on their body," Sakura says as she wanders into the kitchen and up to Naruto, whom she kisses on the cheek and mumbles something about going to sleep.

"She's just jealous that she never got Simba inked onto her butt cheek," Naruto grins after his girlfriend has exited the kitchen with a yawn.

Gaara smiles at that.

They chat a little more afterwards; about Gaara's degree and family, about Naruto's job and obsession with the _Walking Dead_ until both men start yawning. Gaara tries to say something about walking back to Temari's, but Naruto's quick to shush him and insist that he stays the night. Then he's off finding Gaara a blanket and something to sleep in.

The old orange t-shirt he hands Gaara smells like Naruto when the redhead pulls it over his head in the bathroom and stares at himself in the little mirror. The clothing drapes over his body and Gaara scowls at his reflection; only he could manage to look like a 10 year old in the t-shirt of a guy of similar age.

"Damn, you're practically drowning in my t-shirt." Is the first thing that falls out of Naruto's mouth when Gaara steps out of the bathroom, his own clothes bundled in his arms.

"I'm sorry," Gaara says and curls his toes into the carpet beneath them.

"Nah, don't be. Clearly I'm a lot more muscular than I thought," Naruto says and gives a smouldering look, then hastily adds. "Not meaning to say you're not, I mean, you're lean. It looks good."

"I'm bony," he mumbles back, feeling shy because Naruto can see his knobbly knees and small shoulders from where the neck of the t-shirt has slipped down his side.

Naruto narrows his eyes and shrugs. "So?" And his tone sounds like he doesn't care, that he couldn't care less that Gaara's all lanky and lacking much muscle.

Gaara bites at his bottom lip. "Thanks." He shuffles off to settle himself down on the sofa while Naruto switches off lights and clambers off into his own bedroom.

It's at around two in the morning when Gaara's attention is drawn from where he'd been staring up at the ceiling with an intensity most would have found weird. He lifts his head off his pillow and peers over the top of the sofa just in time to make out the shape of a body sneaking past and into the kitchen. He watches curiously when the light from the fridge comes on and then turns off, then there's the noise of a freezer drawer being pulled open, some digging around and triumphant whisper of _'yes, fuck you Sasuke'_. There's more clattering, the noise of bare feet on tiled floor until the noise stops when the figure pauses to rest against the counter, digging into a container with a spoon.

"Why have you got ice cream?"

The body seems to have some sort of seizure and Gaara takes in the sight of Naruto pressing a hand against his heart before he whispers out a hysterical, "Jesus, Gaara!" There's a little bit of fumbling from the blond man's side and then the kitchen light is flickering on and both men are squinting at each other.

At some point Gaara's heart stops beating, and he's pretty sure he's been shot and floating off to heaven right now. Because Naruto is standing there, spoon lodged in his mouth, ice cream container in one hand, and he's pretty much naked save for his black boxer-briefs that hug his ass and hip and -.

Gaara swallows and forces his eyes to move from where they've glued themselves. And he does a shitty job of pretending that the redhead hadn't just been staring at just how _big _Naruto looks in underwear, because Naruto is staring back, looking equal parts cocky and awkward.

And it actually takes a few seconds of silence for Gaara to realise it's not the fact that he'd been gawking at Naruto's junk that's making the tanned man shift from one foot to another. It's the fact that he's naked, in one sense of the word at least, because Gaara can see _everything_.

He can see Naruto.

From the simple black band that goes around his left thigh, to the shrivelled screaming face of the _White Rabbit_ on his right. From the orange koi fish surrounded in black on his left arm, to the black outline of a sparrow on his hip that bled from nothing to the colour blue. From the tree that took up most of his left side and to the countless others, some too small to see.

And the bare pieces of skin, the bits that aren't filled in yet.

Gaara wants to ask, more than he's ever wanted to ask anything from anyone ever before. But he keeps his mouth shut because when someone lets you see their soul, you don't go around intruding and digging for more.

Naruto looks uncomfortable for a second more, but then he's bouncing up to the sofa and squirming his way under the covers alongside Gaara, digging into the ice cream again with the spoon. "What's my little redhead doing awake at this hour?"

Gaara blinks and gapes at him and his heart is going crazy in his chest; _my little redhead! _He manages to clear his throat, divert his eyes from where he's ogling Naruto's tattoos and mask the upwards tilt of his lips. "What about you?" He asks; gesturing at the huge spoonful that Naruto's shovelling into his mouth.

"I couldn't sleep. Sakura's still got a bit of a blocked nose so she snores likes a warthog. Don't tell her I said that though," he says. "You? The sofa not comfy enough?"

"I don't sleep much."

"So you've just been lying here like a log for hours?"

Gaara nods.

"You should have said before, would have stayed up with you," Naruto answers and then licks up the drop of ice cream that had ran down his chin.

Gaara quickly averts his gaze and mumbled into his drawn up knees, "I didn't want to bother you."

The blond man doesn't reply to that, sucking on the spoon in silence for a minute or two until Gaara feels him shift next to him and Naruto whispers excitedly, "Open up!"

Gaara turns to face Naruto with a frowned face, only to find a cold spoon being prodded against his lips.

"It's cookie dough, now come on," Naruto mumbles and pouts, nudging Gaara with his shoulder and getting entirely too close in his naked state.

The redhead obediently opens his mouth and Naruto slots the spoon in, letting Gaara suck the ice cream off it before he pulls it back.

He laughs to himself and mumbles out something about an indirect kiss.

They devour the rest of the ice cream between them, sharing a spoon after Naruto insists that he's too cold to go search for another one. Over time Gaara finds himself leaning onto the tanned man's side, opening his mouth expectantly each time Naruto wafts the spoon at him and letting the tattoo artist pop the sweet stuff into his mouth rather than feeding himself. And Gaara tells himself that the whole thing seems a little bit too close for two guys who've only just met each other, but then he catches Naruto glancing at his lips when Gaara's licking ice cream off them and the thought drifts to the back of his mind along with everything else.

Naruto is ridiculously messy with his share of the food, lewdly licking off dripping ice cream from his fingers and winking at Gaara whenever the redhead stares too long. And maybe he takes more time than necessary to suck his fingers clean, but by the time the ice cream is finished, Naruto is smirking boldly and Gaara's trying to contain the hot flush that's taken over his body.

Finally Naruto leans towards Gaara to whisper in his ear, "I better go. Sleep well, my little redhead."

And he leaves Gaara panting on the sofa in the dark.

* * *

And that was the second chapter, apologies for the slightly filler-ish feel of it but I assure you this little story of mine will speed up from this point on :).

Remember to review!


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